I like this scrounger journalist Jesse dude.
Canadian Geographic magazine has been published for 85 years by the Royal Canadian Geographic Society (RCGS), a self-described "iconic non-profit organization" founded in 1929. Through the years, the magazine has established a respected brand as a sober periodical with a mandate "to explore and celebrate Canada's natural and human wonders."
But according to several former employees, Canadian Geographic has, under its current publisher and governance, strayed from that mission. In a series of posts, we will examine the magazine itself, its corporate-sponsored educational products and its connections to power in Ottawa.
CANADALAND has attempted through every available means to obtain comment for this piece from the RCGS and from Canadian Geographic Publisher André Préfontaine. Our phone messages and emails have gone unanswered.
UPDATE: Préfontaine is Canadian Geographic's Chief Development Officer, no longer serving as publisher.
Part One
"I asked that my name be taken off the masthead, and soon after, I resigned," says Alan Morantz, former senior editor of Canadian Geographic magazine.
Morantz, who worked on contract at the magazine for over three years, says that management abandoned the editorial policy of identifying sponsored content with an article in its December 2012 issue about polar research.
The research being featured was an initiative of the Weston Foundation, who also sponsored the article, according to Morantz.
"Previously we would have labeled a feature like this 'Special Section, in partnership with the Weston Foundation,'" he recalls. "But the disclaimer was changed right before publication to 'Special Report on Northern Research.' You don't take money from a source," he tells CANADALAND, "and pass off the resulting work as journalism."
The archived version of the article on Canadian Geographic's website contains no disclaimer at all.
more
The Sad Story of Canadian Geographic | CANADALAND
Oil Sands Lobby Group Sponsored and Edited Public School Lessons | CANADALAND
John Geiger and Stephen Harper | CANADALAND
Canadian Geographic magazine has been published for 85 years by the Royal Canadian Geographic Society (RCGS), a self-described "iconic non-profit organization" founded in 1929. Through the years, the magazine has established a respected brand as a sober periodical with a mandate "to explore and celebrate Canada's natural and human wonders."
But according to several former employees, Canadian Geographic has, under its current publisher and governance, strayed from that mission. In a series of posts, we will examine the magazine itself, its corporate-sponsored educational products and its connections to power in Ottawa.
CANADALAND has attempted through every available means to obtain comment for this piece from the RCGS and from Canadian Geographic Publisher André Préfontaine. Our phone messages and emails have gone unanswered.
UPDATE: Préfontaine is Canadian Geographic's Chief Development Officer, no longer serving as publisher.
Part One
"I asked that my name be taken off the masthead, and soon after, I resigned," says Alan Morantz, former senior editor of Canadian Geographic magazine.
Morantz, who worked on contract at the magazine for over three years, says that management abandoned the editorial policy of identifying sponsored content with an article in its December 2012 issue about polar research.
The research being featured was an initiative of the Weston Foundation, who also sponsored the article, according to Morantz.
"Previously we would have labeled a feature like this 'Special Section, in partnership with the Weston Foundation,'" he recalls. "But the disclaimer was changed right before publication to 'Special Report on Northern Research.' You don't take money from a source," he tells CANADALAND, "and pass off the resulting work as journalism."
The archived version of the article on Canadian Geographic's website contains no disclaimer at all.
more
The Sad Story of Canadian Geographic | CANADALAND
Oil Sands Lobby Group Sponsored and Edited Public School Lessons | CANADALAND
John Geiger and Stephen Harper | CANADALAND
